Boo and Baa in the Woods

Boo and Baa--both sheep--go to the woods to pick blueberries, hoping all the while that there are no ants around. During their picnic lunch break, Baa notifies Boo that there is an ant on his sandwich. Unbeknownst to them (and noticed only by the most perceptive picture-perusers), their picnic spot is right next to a gigantic swarming anthill. They bolt, bravely pole-vaulting a creek. Much to their delight, they find not only some lovely blueberry bushes on the other side, but a nice, ant-free spot to finish their lunch. The beauty of this simple story is in the details. For starters, the cartoonish sheep could not be cuter. Their expressions when Baa spots the first ant and when Boo sits in wide-eyed, post-ant shock are priceless. When they ford the stream, a sideline frog hops out of danger. When "Boo and Baa spend a long time picking berries," Baa admires a flower, while Boo goes eye-to-eye with a snail on a stump. Readers who fall in love with Olof and Lena Landstrom's Boo and Baa (like we have) won't want to miss Boo and Baa Get Wet (and boy, do they!). (Baby to preschool) --Karin Snelson